Elliot’s House Pet Care + More

Irresponsible and Negligent… do your lovely dogs a favor and stay away!
My dog has recently been prescribed some powerful medications and needs to be walked several times a day so she can relieve herself. I needed some help today as I wasn’t sure how long I would be out and she needed to be walked. I signed up for a walk with Elliot’s and filled out all their paperwork, including a very specific note that had the instructions for walking my dog and specifying that she was on medication. I specifically asked that she be walked so she could relieve herself and NOT be taken to the dog enclosure in the back of the building where she won’t pee and is stressed… crazy right? I wanted my dog to be WALKED as opposed to being watched by a «walker» sitting on a bench as I’ve seen before (besides she is scared of the dog run and hates the astroturf on the ground there)… pretty simple things. I asked to be updated with how many times she had peed as I need to keep count of that now.
Well, imagine my absolute shock (which quickly turned to anger) when I got a text saying she had only gone once (hasn’t done that since being on the medication EVER) and I got a picture of my poor, obviously super stressed dog (ears all sideways and hunched posture) IN THE DOG RUN!!! Needless to say I was livid! Livid and an hour away to add to my frustration.
I told the walker and she texted back an apology and I emailed the company and got an apology phone call from two separate managers offering to have someone from management head out to go walk my dog… ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Like I would ever trust them to get anywhere near my dog again? NEVER!
So I had to miss almost all of my dear friends bridal shower, drive back fuming mad and worried only to find my dog needing to go out so badly that she almost didn’t even make it out the door. Unacceptable that this situation would happen.
There is absolutely no margin of error when it comes to taking care of a living thing and this company is obviously NOT to be trusted.
*update*… my only response to the owners response to my review has already been stated above… there is no margin of error when it comes to the safety and happiness of a pet, your company acted irresponsibly and to say that I am somehow not reflecting the truth of what happened just further points to how irresponsibly you run your business. There was no way to «fix» the situation you guys created and therefore there was no obligation on my part to give you a chance to do so. I stand by my review 100% percent.

We have used Elliot’s House cat sitting services a number of times and have been quite satisfied. Our cat has a few dietary restrictions, but overall he’s pretty low maintenance. Their cat sitters have kept him fed and watered and have sent pictures on a daily basis. The daily pictures are really reassuring and I truly appreciate them.
Regarding scheduling, once you’ve set up your customer account, they make it super easy to schedule a sitter. They’re quick to respond to emails and they’ve been flexible when we’ve had to change our dates or add extra pets (we got a fish) at the last minute.

We have always had friends come in to sit our cat, so we were very nervous to hire a stranger to watch her for the first time, especially since we were going out of town during the holidays which is a very busy time. We experienced flight delays on our way back home and called Elliot’s House as they were closing to try and get someone to check on her at the last minute. They were incredibly accommodating — Taghi himself got the key from one of the sitters and went to our apartment after normal business hours to top off her food and water and send us a picture. Once we were back in town we had to get our key from them quickly before we left again. Again, they juggled our last minute request with their incredibly busy schedules and were able to drop off our key, all while being prompt, communicative, and professional. We’d definitely use them again!

I can’t say enough great things about Taghi Carrol and the crew here… Animal lovers to the core. Very professional very caring and accommodating … If your looking for a place to care for your pet, there’s no better place… Wish I could give 10 stars

Very nice and caring people. Highly recommended for pet sitting and other services. Best one around

My dog does day care on the run and bi-​weekly grooming along with the occasional boarding arrangement. All the walkers are fantastic and love dogs. They always send pics to update me on my dog’s walk which is a nice surprise. The groomer is very receptive to Changes in my dogs hairstyle. Their flexibility and ability to fit my dog in for additional walking appointments and grooming as needed is amazing. Everyone there truly loves dogs and provides my dog with a great experience.

One week in and I already have to write a review to thank them for everything! I found their service so easy to onboard, met our new walker Ashley a few days later and got my pup signed up for weekly walks and doggy day care on the run. He has extreme separation anxiety and after a recent move, has been taking it very hard. She was so supportive and reassuring that he would adjust, and knowing that he is in good hands during the day with such caring professionals, I know he will soon adjust with all of his training. I even ran into someone that met my dog Jackson at another park with the walker and said our walked was the BEST. Made me so happy to hear this. Thank you and please continue to hire good, caring, animal loving staff.

I have an extremely finicky cat, so when I moved to Cambridge last July and left for two weeks almost a month later I was very nervous about finding someone to watch her. I have been very satisfied with the care they have given to my cat and use them whenever I cannot arrange for my boyfriend to care for her while I am away.
I always receive photos and it appears that they come around the same time each day. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, they had a hard time getting into my apartment, but called me immediately and stayed on the phone with me until they were able to get into my apartment to assure me that everything was taken care of.
In the past, my cat would tend to get angry with me when I return after being gone after a while, but this is not the case when Elliot’s House visits with her. I can only imagine that this is because she likes the people coming to visit, feed, and play with her while I am gone. For my cat — that’s a huge thing!
My only complaint, like others have mentioned, is the fact that they keep my apartment key. I had to extend a visit home to my parents over the holidays due to a family emergency and, instead of continuing to pay for the service, wanted my boyfriend to watch my cat for the extra week until I returned (I was trying to save money after the usual holiday splurges). I explained my situation and asked for my spare key to be returned to the desk in my building. There was a great deal of confusion with the key, but it was eventually returned to my building, though my boyfriend had to have someone from maintenance let him in to my apartment to feed the cat for a few days. I have used them since and have my key yet again, so instead of dealing with the hassle of having it returned, I just paid my building for another one. I wish there were a better way to handle keys.
This problem aside, I have found the people at Elliot’s House to be friendly, easy to deal with, and a great resource for pet owners in the area.

Let me start off by saying that I am writing this review from the middle of a conference that I had to leave town for. I’ve got a long list of to-​dos and a full email inbox, but Elliot’s House so earned this review that I’ve prioritized writing it over everything else.
How did they earn it? They saved my ass. They saved me and they did it in the most accommodating and gracious way. I had a bad experience with Boston Dog Company and needed a dog-​walker last minute to replace them. Taghi at Elliot House answered my call and Chelsee saved the day by being able to show up to walk my puppy with little notice. They understood my situation and adjusted their standard procedures to help me solve my urgent pet care need.
I would have loved them for that alone, but they also provided really wonderful puppy care. Chelsee came to my house and took my 4 month old dog out. The elevator was broken and she patiently coaxed him down the stairs (6 flights!) to go out. She texted me pictures of him playing happily in the park with her and gave me a status update.
I can’t say enough about this company and plan on using them often in the future.

I was very disappointed — this place came highly recommended. They kept my dog overnight, this was the email I sent. «If you could then drop him off Sunday afternoon and please make sure to put him back in the kitchen with the gate up, that would be great! (we won’t be home until Sunday evening around 7.) «
I got home Simba was in the middle of the living room with recycling cans all around him. He had cuts on his lips from licking the edge of multiple of the cans. In addition, he was dehydrated, and his collar and leash were covered in dog poop. Wouldn’t use again. The gate hadn’t even been moved.

This review is for dog boarding. I am so impressed with EH’s ability to coordinate boarding and pickups quickly and seamlessly. I had an emergency and was able to arrange same-​day transport and boarding for my two dogs within an hour. I was already out of town and my neighbors called to complain that our dogs were barking endlessly when our house sitter would leave for the night. EH was flexible about scheduling a pickup at a time the sitter could be there to hand off the dogs. I was a new customer, and fortunately could fill out all of EH’s paperwork online and have them processed immediately. We were really in a bind and Elliot’s House saved us!
While the dogs were boarded, the pictures and videos we received every day were adorable. The dogs came back calm and happy. The boarding is pricey, but is so convenient. They really go above and beyond to help their customers and they seem to treat the dogs very well. Thank you Elliot’s House!

I do not recommend them for cat sitting and will never use them again.
We had a similar experience to Kerrie C. and Hillary T. who left negative reviews below. Instructions were not followed, visits did not take place at the time they were promised, dirty utensils were left in our sink, the toilet seat was left up with un-​flushed waste in the toilet (we deliberately left the seat down when we left town). The cats were fed wet food and their box was scooped but that is the extent of the care they received. When you pay $ 32 per visit I think it’s reasonable to expect more than the absolute minimum. I would especially not trust Elliot’s House with administering any medication or any of the most basic requests.

This review is for cat sitting.
The only positive experience I had with Elliot’s House was that they thankfully fit us in around the holidays in a time of need when a friend backed out of sitting last minute. We were particularly panicked because our cat had a UTI and needed to take medications twice a day at the time, so a sitter was necessary. With that said…
We were away and were told that we would get a picture during the visits to see how our cat was doing. I waited around all day and no picture showed up, I started freaking out that no one visited my cat to give her her medications. I hate telling people how to do their job or make them think I don’t trust they did their job, but I emailed and was told that someone did visit but forgot to send the picture. This left a bad taste in my mouth and made me second guess if they even visited at all. I made it very clear I wanted a picture, especially because my cat wasn’t feeling well. Secondly, in a note I left I asked if the sitter could check to see if there was any vomit anywhere. I wanted to make sure my cat was eating or the medications weren’t making her sick. When i asked if there was any vomit anywhere, the sitter replied «I didn’t know to check,» which is ridiculous because I specifically asked in the note. Also in that note I wrote SPECIFIC instructions to give 1 – 2 dry food pieces as a treat because my cat was on a strictly wet food diet due to her UTI, so the dry food, which she loves and would solely eat if she could, had to be used as a treat, such as after medications were administered. When I arrived home, I saw her food bowl filled to the brim with dry food, so who knows if she even ate any wet food. These incidents made me think that the sitter didn’t read my note at all and took care of my cat to my standards.
Elliot’s House may be good for dog-​sitting, but I would look elsewhere for cat-​sitting services.

All these reviews are spot-​on! Carol and Taghi at Elliot’s House are my go-​to for anything needed for my King Charles, Molly. Dog walking, boarding, grooming, vet recommendations — you name it, they will bend over backwards to accomodate.
When I «moved» to Boston last September (my husband and I split our time between Boston and NYC now), I had to scramble to find a dog walker and groomer that would service downtown Boston. The two grooming services my building suggested were disasters — one guy actually told me that they were so in-​demand, he couldn’t groom my dog for two months. The other service I used once and the grooming itself was fine, but they charged me an arm and a leg for pick-​up and drop off.
Elliot’s has great groomers and the pick-​up/​drop-​off is totally easy and FREE! Great service, easy logistics, and affordable prices — what more could one ask for?
On occasion, I find myself in a bind and needing very last minute boarding for the weekend. Carol is always willing to come grab Molly for the weekend, and the rates are the most reasonable I’ve seen so far. She’s always sending my picture texts and updates so I know Molly is in good hands.
After receiving top notch service from the owners at Elliot’s, I can’t imagine using anyone else. I would highly recommend this company to anyone who wants the best for their pet!

I’m going to throw my hat in this ring and say WAHOO for Elliot’s house. Carol is a wonderful dog-​loving business owner, and goes the extra mile to make sure that her clients, both human and canine, are happy. She met with me and Haddie for a few minutes to say hello, and get to know Haddie and her needs, which was a nice touch.
The extra mile was in accommodating my sort of funky house-​key situation. We’re only allowed to have so many building keys, so we worked out a system that gets us where we need to go — she even stopped by my office to pick it up! Haddie is loving having a mid-​day stroll and the pictures from each walk are such a great touch — seeing my happy girl outside is a treat while I’m stuck at work.
Dog owners in the Cambridge-​Boston area, if you need dog-​walking or sitting, these folks are great, responsive, super-​friendly animal lovers who you’ll love.

I love my dog AND I love my job! Elliot house has made this balance 100% easier! Elliot house is so much more than a dog care company! Carol and her team have gone above and beyond to accommodate my schedule, take care of My pup, her unique feeding habits and sending me beautiful photos of her each time she gets a walk, making sure that I know she’s getting exercise and care while I’m traveling for work. When I found Elliot house, I had just had a terrible experience with another dog walking company, let me just say there are a lot of companies out there that lack the professionalism, organization, and integrity that Elliot house has. I highly recommend them for your dog walking needs! Thank you carol!!!

Elliot’s House is a dog owner’s dream come true. We were fortunate enough to have Elliot’s House recommended to us by our apartment management. We needed someone to come and walk our senior beagle, Jackson just once a day. Carol not only comes and gently leads his achy bones out the door, she brings friends for him to visit with. Every day, we get updates of Jackson’s walk via text and pictures. There’s nothing better than being stuck on some never-​ending, boring conference call at work and seeing a text message with your pup’s happy little face pop up.
Elliot’s House is also boarding our little ones while we travel. When we were forced to leave town the day after Jackson was prescribed 2 pills and 3 eye drops at the vet, Carol said «no problem». She was happy to take care of him for us and dispense all of his medications so that we could relax and enjoy our vacation. Once again, we’ve had frequent updates of our dog’s adventures while we’ve been away. They may be having more fun on vacation than we are. Thanks Elliot’s House!

Hey! HEY! YOU!!! Stop your search! You’re looking for the perfect dog walker? You’ve arrived!
Okay, so I’m one of those people whose dogs are family members, not just pets. My greyhounds are sweet and beautiful, but they’re also young, wily little troublemakers, capable of opening cupboards and «dog-​proof» food containers, sneaking out the door and disappearing at 50mph, hiding my shoes, shredding a roll of paper towels, and generally creating sheer havoc. Also, they were not house-​trained when I rescued them.
So when I was looking for a dog walker, I had a lot of very specific needs, rules, and training goals. I interviewed and turned down six people and was starting to succumb to despair when I met Carol and Taghi and the amazing crew at Elliot’s House.
My dog walker sends pictures and video every day of my girls playing in the (fully fenced) park or walking about. She gives me detailed reports about the girls’ eating and bathrooming, and with her help, we’re well on the way to no more accidents and no more havoc!
The Elliot’s House team feels like family. They love my dogs. I love them. And best of all, my dogs LOVE them. Whenever they come over and I’m here (which has happened a few times to make a plan about a training goal or to help me out when I’m laid up), the dogs rush to the door, hopping and wiggling with glee. Seriously, there is nobody besides me that these girls love as much.
The startup forms are user-​friendly. They’re very thorough and I’ll admit I was a bit intimidated by them initially, but in fact it only took me about five minutes to get them done and sent, and ten minutes later I had my home visit booked! Everything, from scheduling to billing and payment, is seamless and smooth.
I really wish I could give them more stars. I wish everyone was lucky enough to have Elliot’s House for their dog walker. There is not a single way I could be happier!

When a last minute change of plans happened over this Christmas season (how many of us have had a cat sitting friend cancel the day before you leave town?), I was recommended Elliot’s House by another pet sitting company. Carol is fabulous, and her and her team were able to fit us in, and were extremely gracious (other sitters were less than understanding about last minute arrangements). Everything was super easy, you can pay online, and Carol texted me pictures of the cats, as well as their general comfort levels and well being.
I couldn’t be more grateful to Elliot’s House and will definitely be recommending them and using their services again in the future! Thanks again!

Our dog Rita had only known (and loved) one pet care pro since we adopted her, so when we moved to new neighborhood we were a bit nervous about finding someone new. We got really lucky on the first try because Elliot’s House is the best. Carol and her team are professional, responsive, and caring — and affordable!
Five stars!